Ford has been in the midst of some major executive shakeups in recent months, most recently announcing the retirements of Stuart Rowley – chief transformation and quality officer, Lincoln president Joy Falotico, and Steven Armstrong, vice president, India and South America Transformation. At the same time, Jim Baumbick took over the automaker’s quality initiative, while Kumar Galhotra assumed responsibility for operations in India and Ford Business Solutions now reports to Mike Amend, Ford’s chief enterprise technology officer. With Dianne Craig taking over as president of Lincoln, long time Blue Oval employee Kay Hart is also assuming her former role of International Markets Group (IMG) president, the automaker has announced.
Kay Hart will take over the position of IMG president on February 1st, 2023, continuing a long-running career with The Blue Oval that includes serving as the president and CEO of Ford of Australia and New Zealand, as well as managing director of the Philippines.
Hart was succeeded as the head of Ford’s Australian operations in 2020 by current president and CEO Andrew Birkic, at which point she transitioned to a European-based global role as Enterprise Product Line Manager (EPLM), Van and Bus. Birkic – a 28 year Blue Oval veteran himself – originally reported to Ford International Markets Group (IMG) president Mark Ovenden at that time, previously working in Dearborn as a global advanced consumer experience platforms manager, and having spent two and a half years in Shanghai as the Ford Asia Pacific director for dealer development and consumer experience.
Hart is currently responsible for FoMoCo’s Model e Van and Bus product lines, in addition to carrying forward its commercial vehicle alliance with Volkswagen. Ford notes that Hart’s extensive experience and deep understanding of the IMG markets makes her the right person to lead the business unit and help deliver the Ford+ plan.
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Comments
Nobody ever gets fired at Ford. They always “retire” and then pop up somewhere else.
Elon might want to consider some of Ford’s ‘long time’ expertise for his twitter woes. Investors are increasingly worried that Elon has forgotten how to run a company that is less about him.. it is kinda of sad. All said, the automotive industry has to be cheering for Elon to stay on as ‘chief twit’.
If Ford can’t get there Quality Under control, and real Soon……. It’s just not gonna be a Pretty Site Down the road. Recall after Recall after Recall. It’s Gotta Stop!
Kenny D… you are right on this one! I think Ford is already down the road so to speak. That said, Ford will emerge as a parts and vehicle builder for an existing brand. You heard it here first.